Carl Marcus (Mark) Olson, a resident of Asbury-Solomons retirement community in Solomons, MD, formerly of Newark, DE, died at home on Monday, May, 16th, 2011. He was born in 1911 to Swedish immigrant parents in Chicago, Ill. His father, Dr. Oscar N. Olson, a clergyman, and his mother, Wilhelmina Peterson Olson raised Mark and his older sister Heloise in Sioux City, IA, and Rock Island, IL. He graduated from Rock Island High School and subsequently attended Augustana College in that city.

After graduating from Augustana in 1932, Mark went to the University of Chicago for graduate work, eventually earning his PhD. He was recruited to work for the DuPont Company in Baltimore, MD, at the Krebs Pigment and Color plant as a chemist/physicist, working on improving the white pigment titanium dioxide. Meanwhile, during the war years of the late 1930s and early 1940s, an intense effort was underway to develop air-borne radar. A critical component in the design was a diode that would allow electrons to flow in one direction only, requiring the use of pure silicon. Mark's research at DuPont pinpointed a way to purify the element, and he himself grew the first crystal of hyper-pure silicon. This forged the way for DuPont to embark on a silicon production program that over the next 50 years led to the development of radar, silicon transistors, semiconductors and the Silicon Valley computer phenomenon.

As WWII raged on, the DuPont Company contributed to the war effort by offering the expertise of some of its scientists. In 1943, Mark was sent to the University of Chicago to the "Manhattan Project" to join Glen Seaborg's team working on laboratory-scale production of plutonium. Later, he worked on plant- and industrial-scale production in Oak Ridge, TN, and Hanford, WA. By late 1945, Mark was back at DuPont in Wilmington, turning his attention to peacetime challenges of pigment production and new applications. He was Director of the Pigment Dept. at DuPont's Experimental Station from 1950 to 1968. He nurtured there a group of researchers free to pursue their creative and, ultimately, productive ideas. He retired in 1971. Over the years, Mark was granted 25 patents and, in 2008, Augustana College honored him with the Alumni Outstanding Achievement Award for his life's work.

Mark met his future wife Loraine Swanson at college where they were both members of the choir. They were married October 2, 1937 in Rockford, IL, and Loraine joined him in Baltimore to begin their married life. Together, they raised three children: sons Erik and Nicholas and daughter Marcia. Mark's interests were wide-ranging all his life. He and his wife were knowledgeable collectors of oriental rugs and he was a skilled woodworker, making many pieces of furniture for their home. After retiring from DuPont, the couple pursued an active retirement in Newark, DE until 1996, when they moved to Maryland. Loraine died in 1998; son Erik died in 1996.

Mark is survived by his daughter Marcia in Lusby, MD; Erik's wife Valerie Limbert Olson of Baltimore, MD; and son Nicholas and wife Susan Maunders of Mill Valley, CA, and their daughter Siri at Brown University in Providence, RI. He leaves behind many near and extended family members and friends to mourn his passing including his nephews: Robert, Charles and Norman Moline and their families, and his long-time caregivers: Darlene and Malissa Long.

Interment will be private.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Asbury-Solomons Benevolent Fund, 11100 Asbury Circle, Solomons, MD 20688, Calvert Hospice, P. O. Box 838, Prince Frederick, MD 20688 "Donations are encouraged on line" at: www.calverthospice.org or to Augustana College Alumni Fund, Development Office, Augustana College, 639 38th Street, Rock Island, IL 61201, http://www.augustana.edu/x3321.xml.

Arrangements by the Rausch Funeral Home, P. A., Lusby, MD 20657.